Brooks Koepka Trashes LIV Golf Teammate Matt Wolff, Says His 'Talent's Wasted'

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Lately, a news story about golfers engaged in a war of words generally means some kind of beef between a PGA Tour player and a LIV Golfer. But not this one. LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka did not hold back when talking about teammate Matt Wolff.

Unlike the PGA Tour, LIV Golf includes a team component for each tournament. Koepka captains his team, Smash GC. His brother, Chase, is on the team. As are Jason Kokrak and Wolff.

But Koepka has had enough of Matt Wolff. Not because he's playing badly -- which he is -- but because Koepka thinks he doesn't try. There's nothing worse in sports than a teammate who doesn't give 100% effort. All athletes know this feeling.

Team Captain Brooks Koepka of Smash GC and Matt Wolff during a LIV Golf event.

Team Captain Brooks Koepka of Smash GC and Matt Wolff during a LIV Golf event. (Photo by Charles Laberge/LIV Golf via Getty Images )

But few scorch their teammate publicly like Koepka did in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

“I mean, when you quit on your round, you give up and stuff like that, that's not competing,” said Koepka.


You don't work hard. It's very tough to have even like a team dynamic when you've got one guy that won't work, one guy is not going to give any effort, he’s going to quit on the course, break clubs, gets down, bad body language, it's very tough. I've basically given up on him—a lot of talent, but I mean the talent's wasted.

That's some harsh criticism, but Koepka is the team's captain and he's trying to win. However, he did bring his brother onto the team.

Chase Koepka is a good golfer but not someone who would survive on the PGA Tour. The younger Koepka ranks 47th in LIV Golf's individual standings this season out of 52 players.

However, three of the players behind him have played several rounds fewer. Only two players who have also participated in all 8 events are behind him.

Matt Wolff, meanwhile, ranks 25th.

That's not Brooks Koepka's point, of course. He think Wolff is capable of performing better than he has. That's probably true. Chase Koepka is playing the best he can. He's just not in the same league, talent-wise, as these other guys.

Still, if Brooks really wants to win more than anything, he should probably look to replace his brother with a better player.

Matt Wolff of Smash GC reacts to a missed putt during a LIV Golf event.

Matt Wolff of Smash GC reacts to a missed putt during a LIV Golf event. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

With regard to Wolff, though, he's a former All-American at Oklahoma State and won the 2019 NCAA Individual Championship.

He also won the PGA Tour's 3M Open in 2019. Since then, though, it's been a struggle.

And he left for LIV Golf and a guaranteed payday. For some athletes, that first big contract saps their motivation. It happens in team sports all the time.

Perhaps that's part of the issue for Matt Wolff. Perhaps not.

Either way, he's not doing his job for captain Brooks Koepka.

And, if we've learned anything from Koepka, he's not afraid to tell the world exactly how he feels.

And right now, he's not feeling too great about teammate Matt Wolff.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.